468 BULLETIN 82, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



p. 443 (range on the east coast) ; p. 456 (may or may not retain cirri when adult) ; Memoirs 

 Australian Mus., vol. 4, 1911, p. 717 (known to P. H. Carpenter from Australia); p. 721 (occurs 

 south to Cape York); p. 733 (in key); p. 753 (annotated synonymy; characters; Australian 

 record; range; discussion; includes nobilis, regalis, and dissimilis) ; Records of the Australian 

 Mus., vol. 9, No. 1, 1912, p. 81 (Solomon Is.); Smiths. Miscel. Coll., vol. 60, No. 10, 1912, 

 p. 6 (compared with Comaster belli); p. 8 (Mortlock I., Carolines [recorded by Hartlaub as 

 parvicirra]; Cebu; Ekalin, St. Matthias I.); Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 43, 1912, p. 391 (Am- 

 boina); Crinoids of the Indian Ocean, 1912, p. 31 ( = Actinometra multifida Bell, 1884, part); 

 p. 36 (includes duplex, nobilis, regalis, and sc.hlegelii P. H. Carpenter, 1888); p. 37 ( = Actinome- 

 tra panicirra, part, and regalis Hartlaub, 1891); p. 38 ( = duplex Bell, 1894); p. 39 ( = regalis 

 Doderlein, 1898); p. 40 ( = typica Bell, 1902); p. 91 (synonymy; off Tobu I., 35 fathoms; south- 

 ern part of Malacca Strait; Invisible Bank; summary of previous records; discussion); Die 

 Fauna Sudwest-Australiens, vol. 4, Lief. 6, 1912, p. 308 (relation to Comaster belli); Smiths. 

 Miscell. Coll., vol. 61, No. 15, 1913, p. 14 (published references to specimens in the British 

 Museum; localities in detail; characters of the specimens). REICHENSPEBGER, Abhandl. 

 Senck. naturf. GeseUsch., vol. 35, Heft 1, 1913, p. 82 (Aru Is.); p. 83 (Amboina); p. 88 (Amboina, 

 Strubell; Aru Is., Merton; characters of the 2 specimens) .A. H. CLARK, Internat. Revue d. 

 gesamt. Hydrobiol. u. Hydrogr., 1915, pp. 222 and following (detailed account of the distribu- 

 tion in Australia); Unstalked Crinoids of the Siboga Exped., 1918, p. 46 (synonymy; notes; 

 stations 33, 99, 164, 220, 303; Batavia Bay); pp. 271-274, 276 (listed). 



Diagnostic features. The arms are 80-200 (usually 160-190) in number in well- 

 developed individuals. This species is readily distinguished from belli by the absence 

 of the high carinate processes found on the lower pinnule segments in that species. 

 From all other comasterids with a large number of arms it is usually easily distin- 

 guished by the occurrence of IIIBr 2 series on the outer sides of each ray, and IIIBr 4 

 (3 + 4) series interiorly, as well as by a characteristically massive appearance due to 

 the broadening and dorsal flattening of the division series and the solid interradial 

 plating. Comanthus trichoptera and C. pinguis have much the same appearance, 

 but in them the IIIBr series are all 4 (3 + 4), and neither occurs within the range of 

 schlegelii. 



Description. The centrodorsal is pentagonal or more or less sharply stellate, 

 its dorsal surface flush with, or slightly below, that of the radials. 



There are typically no cirri in fully developed specimens. But in nearly half 

 the examples seen there are 1, 2, or sometimes even more. When present the cirri 

 are rather stout, of uniform width throughout their length, and consist of 15 seg- 

 ments of which the first two are about three times as broad as long, the third is 

 about twice as broad as long, the fourth is nearly as long as broad, and those follow- 

 ing are slightly longer than broad, after the seventh or eighth very gradually 

 decreasing in length and becoming about twice as broad as long distally. The 

 opposing spine is minute, subterminal or median. The terminal claw is long, slen- 

 der, and moderately curved. Young individuals have the cirri X-XII, 15; the 

 longer segments are slightly constricted centrally, and the shorter distal are slightly 

 compressed laterally, appearing somewhat broader in lateral view. 



The ends of the basal rays are usually just visible at the angles of the centrodorsal. 



The radials are trapezoidal, proximally about half again and distally about two 

 and one-half times as broad as long. The IBr, are about as long as the radials, and 

 are in close apposition laterally. The IBr 2 (axillaries) are almost or quite triangular, 

 twice as long as the IBr,, two and one-half times as broad as long, in close lateral 



